Teague Middle School

REACH FOR THE STARS. Teague Middle School is trying to encourage its students to read for pleasure through ''Reach For the Stars,'' a program dedicated to the late teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe. In addition to receiving a Seminole County library card, each student also was given a folder full of reading ideas, games and puzzles to be completed by the end of February. Students receive stars for projects they finish. While the students who earn the most stars get prizes, all participants will be given certificates of merit.

Officials ordered a lockdown at Teague Middle School near Altamonte Springs this afternoon because a suicidal man barricaded himself in a nearby home with a firearm, but the standoff ended peacefully an hour and a half later, and no one was hurt, an official reported. School children who had to stay inside were released about 3:45 p.m., said Seminole County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kim Cannaday. A SWAT team entered the man's house after negotiations and secured him, Cannaday said.

Teague Middle School is celebrating the International Week of Peace '97 with a door-decorating contest for each homeroom, an essay contest and a peace bear-naming contest. Also, each student will sign a pledge of peace.On Friday a pep rally is planned with speakers from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and Lake Brantley High students. The winner of the essay contest will read his or her essay.Parental adviceFLORIDA PTA President Sandy Traeger will give information on how parents can deal with their teenagers during a Seminole County High School PTSA meeting.

SEMINOLE COUNTY -- An eighth-grade student at Teague Middle School near Altamonte Springs was arrested Wednesday after he was found with a pair of knives during an after-school dance. A student told school officials that the boy threatened to "slice someone's boyfriend," the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said. The 15-year-old, who is not being identified because of his age, was suspended and faces expulsion in addition to a felony charge of possessing a weapon on school grounds, a school official said.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - An American flag flew at half-staff Monday morning at Teague Middle School. Posters, poems and flowers covered a gymnasium wall as students and staff mourned the loss of a popular coach, Henry Lee Williams.The 27-year-old Sanford man died early Saturday morning after a hit-and-run driver struck his motorcycle at State Road 46 and Summerlin Avenue, authorities said. Sanford police are still looking for the suspect and the damaged car.Teague Principal Doreen Rochefort said the school, which has more than 1,400 students, was devastated by the news of Williams' death.

Jesse Gallimore wants to become a black belt and a world champion in karate - and he is well on his way.Jesse, a seventh-grader at Teague Middle School in Altamonte Springs, recently was named 1998 FAME State Champion in forms and fighting.The double-crown title is based on the results of 13 tournaments. During those competitions, Jesse placed first 11 times in fighting and nine times in forms.At the end of the season, which lasts from February until October, he had the most points in his age group and belt division, resulting in the double title.

Now, the school counselor is taking a break, devoting time to her artwork, visiting grandchildren and traveling.In other words, Frutchey is retired.She has been in the educational field for about 28 years, spending a lot of that time helping students achieve their goals at the Altamonte Springs middle school.''I think one of the most important qualities of a good counselor is to be genuinely interested in the individual, and that Mrs. Frutchey is,'' said Toni T. Calvino, who sent four sons through Teague Middle School.

HELLO, MY name is Ellen Hess. I went to Teague Middle School last year in Altamonte Springs, so this is my first year attending a Lake County school.If I would have stayed at my old school. I would be in school year round. Here I don't. I am so glad because I really didn't want to go to school all year. I hope Eustis Middle School doesn't join in on the year round school.I also have discovered that the discipline is a lot more strict in Eustis Middle School than it was in Teague Middle School.

A 13-year-old boy pleaded guilty Monday to bringing his father's loaded gun to Teague Middle School.Robert Cathers, 785 Mahogany Lane, Altamonte Springs, will be sentenced May 21 for one count of possession of a firearm on school property.Seminole Juvenile Court Judge Gene Stephenson released the teenager from the Seminole Regional Juvenile Detention Center, where he had been held since his arrest.The judge ordered the boy to serve home detention with 24-hour parental supervision and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

ADMINISTRATORS AT Teague Middle School in Seminole County have taken the proper steps to correct an error. A mandatory public-school function is neither the time nor the place to endorse any religion. As to be expected, some extreme Christians have filed suit alleging injury. That is like a rabid dog insisting that it has a right to bite.Deane JordanMAITLAND

Seminole Community College has teamed up with the 18th Judicial Circuit Court and the Seminole County Bar Association to present a program on Brown v. Board of Education. The event, which will be an evening to reflect on the landmark decision of 1954 that found segregated schools unconstitutional, will be at 7 p.m. May 17 at the SCC Fine Arts Concert Hall, 100 Weldon Blvd., Sanford. There will be a presentation of the documentary The Road to Brown and a panel discussion. Former Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin and James Perry, the circuit's chief judge, will be on the panel of community leaders, judges and lawyers.

Seminole County schools rank among the state's best. A few recent developments underscore why. Bentley Elementary School was belatedly notified that it has been rated an "A" school, the top ranking accorded by the state's FCAT test grading system. Teague Middle School learned that the state had raised its grade on appeal from "B" to "A." Those announcements mean that 77 percent of the county's 53 elementary, middle, and high schools received an "A." That's an achievement that deserves recognition.

Students at Crooms Academy of Information Technology invited Goldsboro Elementary third-graders to their school Wednesday to help instill a love and appreciation of reading. The Goldsboro students visited Crooms from 10 to 12:30 p.m. to accept books that the high school students had made for them. The ninth- and 10th-graders have been reading on a weekly basis to third-graders at Goldsboro who have been struggling with reading. The high-schoolers wanted to do more to help and decided to make special books for the students.

Brennan Dobbins will spin some tales next month in Tennessee. The Teague Middle School eighth-grader will tell stories about life in the 1500s and about a "mischievous girl and hideous monster" at the National Storytelling Festival, Oct. 4-6. Brennan, 13, of Longwood earned the right to participate in the event after he was picked overall winner at the National Youth Storytelling Olympics earlier this year in California. Local folks who can't travel to Jonesborough, Tenn., to listen to Brennan's tales can hear him at two events -- "Ghosts in the Gardens" on Oct. 11 at Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando and the Orlando Storytelling Festival at Lake Eola in November.

Kudos to the Seminole County school system for initiating the Kids Voting/USA program in conjunction with this year's election! For the benefit of those who were uninformed about it, this was a program through which kids were encouraged to go to the polls with their parents and were actually given a mock ballot on which to cast their votes. For my 12-year-old daughter, a seventh-grader at Teague Middle School, it was a very positive and exciting experience, enhanced by teacher encouragement and participation in classroom discussions, assignments, etc. At a time in this country when many eligible voters chose not to exercise their right to voice their opinions because of the slanderous and dirty campaigns waged on so many levels, as well as to overall apathy about our government, it was both refreshing and encouraging to have the public school system support education to its highest level, starting with the very young.

Laser shows, music, videos and games will all be part of the "Go For It!'' show Sept. 26 at TD Waterhouse Centre. The event will teach students in grades three through eight about the importance of staying in school, eating nutritious foods, being physically fit, and avoiding gangs, drugs and tobacco. It does it all with entertainment geared to children. The hours are from 6 to 8 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but reservations are required. For more information, call 407-352-1324.

Seminole High School senior Jennifer Durak has been selected the overall winner of the county's 1986 Social Studies Fair, in which 600 students competed in eight events.''Costs of Compromises,'' based on the Jan. 28 explosion of the Shuttle Challenger and the deaths of the seven astronauts, was the theme of Durak's winning display.''It was very impressive, an excellent presentation,'' said James J. Elliott, coordinator of the county's social studies department. He said Durak will represent Seminole in the Florida Historical Society's State History Fair Thursday and Friday in Bradenton.

ANIELA A. THOMPSON, 51, 300 Cambridge Drive, Longwood, died Friday, April 22. Mrs. Thompson was a programs assistant for the Parent Resource Center at Seminole Community College. Born in Middletown, Conn., she moved to Central Florida in 1983. A member of Church of the Annunciation, she also belonged to the board of Lake Brantley High School Advisory Council. She was co-chair of the Lake Brantley High School Project Graduation and a director of the Teague Middle School After School Program.

Two award-winning authors will visit Hamilton Elementary School, a magnet school for communications and technology, next week to teach storytelling techniques and writing skills. Authors Patricia and Frederick McKissack will attend the school's first Author's Night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on April 6. The couple will speak about their work, autograph their books and answer questions. They also will visit with students in class April 6 and 7. The husband and wife writing team have written several picture books, including Flossie and the Fox, and Mirandy and Brother Wind.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - An American flag flew at half-staff Monday morning at Teague Middle School. Posters, poems and flowers covered a gymnasium wall as students and staff mourned the loss of a popular coach, Henry Lee Williams.The 27-year-old Sanford man died early Saturday morning after a hit-and-run driver struck his motorcycle at State Road 46 and Summerlin Avenue, authorities said. Sanford police are still looking for the suspect and the damaged car.Teague Principal Doreen Rochefort said the school, which has more than 1,400 students, was devastated by the news of Williams' death.